Inside The Pinstripes

Gerrit Cole Gives Telling Update on Alarming Removal From Yankees' Game

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole spoke out about his concerning removal from Monday's start.

Grant Young

Sep 2, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) walks off the field after he pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) walks off the field after he pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Yankees earned their 80th win of the regular season on Monday after defeating the Texas Rangers 8-4 in Arlington.

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole was masterful in the win. He pitched six innings while only giving up one earned run on four hits while also tallying nine strikeouts.

Because he had only thrown 82 pitches to that point, Cole returned to the mound to pitch the 7th inning.

But he then stopped mid-way through his warm-up pitches to start massaging his right calf. After one alarming warm-up attempt, Cole was ultimately taken out of the game due to what looked to be a potential injury.

The initial hope was that Cole was just experiencing cramps in his calf, which would be a best-case scenario for New York.

And that's exactly what had happened, as Chris Kirschner of The Athletic wrote on X Monday, "Yankees say Gerrit Cole left today's game with a right calf cramp. He will be monitored tomorrow."

This announcement from the Yankees solidifies that Cole's sudden removal Monday is a major crisis averted.

Cole spoke out about his removal postgame, saying, "I wasn't super concerned. I just didn't think it was the right situation to keep trying to manipulate it out there. I had a similar situation last year against the Dodgers. I was able to manage it for a couple of innings until it was too much. I jogged out there. I didn't feel it. I don't feel it walking or moving around. Just for whatever reason on my follow through," via Chris Kirschner.

Losing Cole for any amount of time would be disastrous for New York at any point. Yet, the fact that the 33-year-old has a 1.85 ERA in his last six starts (according to Talkin' Yanks) shows that Cole has returned to the form that won him the 2023 AL Cy Young award at the perfect time.

Given how inconsistent most of the Yankees' starting pitchers have been this season, it's hard to imagine New York could make a deep postseason run without Cole heading their rotation.

Luckily, Cole avoided an injury in a moment where the entire Yankees' universe held its collective breath.

Now they can breathe a sigh of relief.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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